FIXME //This page is under construction, pieces of text will move and information needs to be added still// FIXME

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//This article is intended as a reference guide to network card configuration in Slackware.//\\ The network scripts themselves are well-documented (inside the scripts) but there is not much other written end-user documentation about what you put into the configuration files. The [[http://slackbook.org/html/network-configuration-tcpip.html|Network Configuration]] chapter in the //[[http://slackbook.org/html/|Slackware Linux Essentials]]// book explains in generic terms how Slackware's network configuration works, and how the use of DHCP (dynamic IP address assignment) differs from static IP's. I will try not to repeat what is written there.\\ There is another nice and freely available book on Slackware, called //[[http://slackbasics.org/html/|Slackware Linux Basics]]//. This book should be considered as required follow-up reading material once you mastered the Slackware Essentials. The [[http://slackbasics.org/html/netconfig.html|networking chapter]] is well worth reading.

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This article will is intended to be a thorough look into the way network cards are configured in Slackware. The network scripts themselves are well-documented but there is not much other written documentation about what you put into the configuration files. The [[http://slackbook.org/html/network-configuration-tcpip.html|Network Configuration]] chapter in the //[[http://slackbook.org/html/|Slackware Linux Essentials]]// book explains in generic terms how Slackware's network configuration works, and how the use of DHCP (dynamic IP address assignment) differs from static IP's. I will try not to repeat what is written there.\\ There is another nice and freely available book on Slackware, called //[[http://slackbasics.org/html/|Slackware Linux Basics]]//. This book should be considered as required follow-up reading material once you mastered the Slackware Essentials. The [[http://slackbasics.org/html/netconfig.html|networking chapter]] is well worth reading.

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In essence, my Wiki article documents the ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' file. The only available documentation about the configurable network parameters used to be at the bottom of that file, and it took the shape of commented-out examples. In Slackware 12.2 two man pages were added, for [[http://slackware.osuosl.org/slackware-12.2/source/n/network-scripts/manpages/rc.inet1.8|rc.inet1]] and [[http://slackware.osuosl.org/slackware-12.2/source/n/network-scripts/manpages/rc.inet1.conf.5|rc.inet1.conf]], both of which are based on this Wiki article. \\ The ''rc.inet1'' script in Slackware configures all your network interfaces - including wireless interfaces. If the ''rc.inet1'' script detects that it deals with a //wireless interface//, it will call the sub-script ''rc.wireless'' to configure this interface's wireless properties. Both scripts take their configuration information from the same file ''rc.inet1.conf''. \\ I wrote a separate chapter about [[#wireless_networks|Wireless Networks]] because a wireless network interface has so many more configurable parameters than a "wired" interface. The configuration of [[#wpa_encryption|WPA encryption]] a for wireless interface is documented in it's own chapter; the WPA parameters are taken from the file ''/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'' instead of the ''rc.inet1.conf'' file. \\ The final section of this article looks at alternative (mainly GUI based) network configuration managers and the extent to which these may be useful in Slackware.

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My Wiki article essentially documents the ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' file. The special case of the network device is the //wireless interface//. I dedicated a separate chapter to [[#wireless_networks|Wireless Networks]] which we also configure using ''rc.inet1.conf'': I follow up on that with a chapter on [[#wpa_encryption|WPA encryption]] which has it's own configuration in ''/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf''. The tail of this article looks at alternative (mainly GUI based) network configuration managers and the extent to which these may be useful in Slackware.

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I will also try to give some historic perspective on the evolution of network support in Slackware, because I was involved in this a lot.

I will also try to give some historic perspective on the evolution of network support in Slackware, because I was involved in this a lot.

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I have been dabbling with Slackware's network support for a long time now. My interest started when I became an IBM employee and was exposed to a Token Ring network (which is the type of network infrastructure that IBM was known for, as opposed to Ethernet which was what the rest of the world was using). Token Ring interfaces are called **tr0**, tr1, etc...\\ Now, you may remember if you have used Slackware long enough that the network device configuration script ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1'' had the name "''eth''" hard-coded. Slackware supported four network interfaces out of the box: they had to be called eth0, eth1, eth2 and eth3. This meant that I had to patch the script to add support for my Token Ring cards. I had to repeat this patching procedure for every computer I installed Slackware on (even at IBM, I could use Slackware because I deployed these as local servers for groups of developers in the office). At some point this became quite tedious, so I approached Pat Volkerding and asked him if he would incorporate my patch into the Slackware scripts (at the source). Pat was very friendly (of course) but also would not use my patch for quite some time (of course :-).

I have been dabbling with Slackware's network support for a long time now. My interest started when I became an IBM employee and was exposed to a Token Ring network (which is the type of network infrastructure that IBM was known for, as opposed to Ethernet which was what the rest of the world was using). Token Ring interfaces are called **tr0**, tr1, etc...\\ Now, you may remember if you have used Slackware long enough that the network device configuration script ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1'' had the name "''eth''" hard-coded. Slackware supported four network interfaces out of the box: they had to be called eth0, eth1, eth2 and eth3. This meant that I had to patch the script to add support for my Token Ring cards. I had to repeat this patching procedure for every computer I installed Slackware on (even at IBM, I could use Slackware because I deployed these as local servers for groups of developers in the office). At some point this became quite tedious, so I approached Pat Volkerding and asked him if he would incorporate my patch into the Slackware scripts (at the source). Pat was very friendly (of course) but also would not use my patch for quite some time (of course :-).

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It would take as long as Slackware **10.2** to support network cards out of the box whose name did not start with //''eth''// ... Starting with that release it became easier to configure wireless interfaces as well... since these are commonly called //''ath0''// or //''wlan0''//.\\ Furthermore, the capability was added to start/stop/restart every individual interface instead of the "all or nothing" approach of the earlier ''rc.inet1'' script. See also the section [[#re_starting_a_network_interface|(re)starting a network interface]]

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It would take as long as Slackware **10.2** to support network cards out of the box whose name did not start with "//''eth''//" ... \\ Also in Slackware **10.2**, the capability was added to start/stop/restart every individual interface instead of the "all or nothing" approach of the earlier ''rc.inet1'' script. See also the section [[#re_starting_a_network_interface|(re)starting a network interface]]

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These patches were fairly non-intrusive, but adding support for wireless network interfaces would be a lot more complicated.\\ Historically, the pcmcia subsystem already supported (wired as well as) wireless cards for some time, but these cards with a 16-bit PCMCIA interface were typically configured using the ''/etc/pcmcia/network.opts'' and ''/etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts'' files. The introduction of wireless //PCCard// (which is essentially 32-bit PCI with a PCMCIA interface) and //PCI// devices demanded a new approach. Support for these cards would have to he added to the ''rc.inet1'' script.

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The first release of Slackware to have support for //PCI// and //PCCard// wireless network cards was **10.0**. The script ''/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless'' was added. It takes care of configuring the wireless parameters for a network interface. This script does not run independently (although the original version of Slackware 10.0 would not complain if you did). Instead, it is executed by the generic network configuration script ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1''. Note that this happens for every network interface which is being initialized - wired as well as wireless. The ''rc.wireless'' script will return control to ''rc.inet1'' immediately if it determines that the interface has no wireless capabilities.\\ If a wireless interface is detected, ''rc.wireless'' will use ''iwconfig'', ''iwpriv'' and possibly ''wpa_supplicant'' to associate the card with an access point (in //managed// mode) or peer it with another computer (in //ad-hoc// mode). When the script completes it's work, it hands back control to the ''rc.inet1'' script which continues with the (DHCP or static) IP address assignment.\\ If you remove the executable bit from this script, it will never be run. This can be beneficial if you have written your own wireless script and don't want Slackware to mess it up.

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<note warning>The ''/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless'' script is not meant to be run on it's own by the user!</note>

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Typically, wireless network cards are assigned a name different from **''ethN''** (''wlanN'', ''raN'' and ''athN'' are common names) Before the release of Slackware **10.2**, these cards could not easily be configured using the standard network configuration files. Support for arbitrary network interface names (other than ''ethN'') was added in Slackware 10.2, which made the process of configuring wireless interfaces a lot easier.

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> We are going to assume here that you are running Slackware 10.2 or newer.

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> Most people with wireless cards will be better off with a recent release

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> like Slackware 12.1 anyway.

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> For older releases, there are instructions in an other Wiki article about [[:slackware:madwifi#network_configuration_the_manual_way_slackware_10.1_and_older|updating the network scripts]].

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The first versions of the ''rc.wireless'' script relied on a configuration file ''/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf'' for all of your wireless card's configuration. Starting with Slackware **10.2**, it is also possible to use the generic configuration file ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' to store wireless parameters.\\ Support for WPA encryption (using wpa_supplicant) was also added, although it would take until Slackware **11.0** before a //wpa_supplicant// package was actually added to the ///testing// directory. In Slackware **12.0**, wpa_supplicant finally became part of the 'N' package series.

==== Network subsystem ====

==== Network subsystem ====

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Slackware's network subsystem is straight-forward. A network device will be used by Slackware only if there is configuration data available about: what is it's TCP-IP configuration? Additionally for a wireless interface it is good to know it's wireless parameters. So, how does Slackware load drivers for, configure and activate a network interface?

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Slackware's network subsystem is straight-forward. A network device will be used by Slackware only if Slackware finds the minimally required configuration data. Most important: //it must be known if the card will use DHCP to obtain an IP address or that a static IP address will be used//. Additionally for a wireless interface it is good to have configured it's wireless parameters.\\ So, how does Slackware load drivers for, configure and activate a network interface?

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* Automatically at boot time\\ At boot time, the //UDEV// sub-system probes your hardware and based on the information it receives, loads a kernel module (or several). The feedback it receives from the kernel together with the UDEV rulesets, determine how the hardware is configured and activated. For network interfaces, the script **''/etc/udev/rules.d/90-network.rules''** determines the actions. This rule file in turn runs the script **''/lib/udev/nethelper.sh''** with the name of the interface (which was created by the kernel as the driver loaded) as a parameter. This script checks on the status of the boot process, and decides if it is that time to activate the network (this can not happen too early in the boot process because some required directories may not yet be available if they are not on the root partition). But in the end, the ''nethelper.sh'' script will run the following command for any interface called //INTERFACE// (eth0, eth1, ath0, wlan0, you get it): <code>

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* Automatically at boot time\\ At boot time, the //UDEV// sub-system probes your hardware and based on the information it receives, loads a kernel module (or several). The feedback it receives from the kernel together with the UDEV rulesets, determine how the hardware is configured and activated. For network interfaces, the script **''/etc/udev/rules.d/90-network.rules''** determines the actions. The UDEV rule file in turn runs the script **''/lib/udev/nethelper.sh''** with the name of the interface (which was created by the kernel as the driver loaded) as a parameter. It checks on how far the boot has progressed. Activating the network must not happen too soon because some required directories (///var// for instance) may not yet be mounted if they are not on the root partition. But ultimately, the ''nethelper.sh'' script will run the following command for any interface called //INTERFACE// (eth0, eth1, ath0, wlan0, you get it): <code>

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 INTERFACE_start

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 INTERFACE_start

</code> which will configure, then activate, the network interface with that name. But only if you added the required information to the configuration file ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' !\\ UDEV will also ensure that your network interface will always keep the name it initially got. As an example, think about what happens if you have a //''eth0''// interface and then you add an extra network card to the computer. This new card could get detected before the old one and this would result in the kernel assigning //''eth0''// to the new card, leaving //''eth1''// for the old card. To prevent this mix-up of names, UDEV uses the script **''/etc/udev/rules.d/75-persistent-net-generator.rules''** to create a file **''/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules''** with lines that look like this: <code bash>

</code> which will configure, then activate, the network interface with that name. But only if you added the required information to the configuration file ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' !\\ UDEV will also ensure that your network interface will always keep the name it initially got. As an example, think about what happens if you have a //''eth0''// interface and then you add an extra network card to the computer. This new card could get detected before the old one and this would result in the kernel assigning //''eth0''// to the new card, leaving //''eth1''// for the old card. To prevent this mix-up of names, UDEV uses the script **''/etc/udev/rules.d/75-persistent-net-generator.rules''** to create a file **''/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules''** with lines that look like this: <code bash>

</code> You see here, that a card's //MAC address// defines the interface name it will keep getting as long as this file exists. You can safely delete the file if you think there is something wrong with the naming of your network interfaces (like in the case where you cloned your Slackware system to use it on another computer or in a Virtual Machine) because UDEV will just create a new file with correct informations the next time you boot the computer.

</code> You see here, that a card's //MAC address// defines the interface name it will keep getting as long as this file exists. You can safely delete the file if you think there is something wrong with the naming of your network interfaces (like in the case where you cloned your Slackware system to use it on another computer or in a Virtual Machine) because UDEV will just create a new file with correct informations the next time you boot the computer.

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* Pre-defined at boot time\\ If IDEV does not detect your card, or if you do not use UDEV, or if you just want to make sure that your card's driver is loaded always, you can create a file by the name of **''/etc/rc.d/rc.netdevice''** and add modprobe command(s) there that load the driver for your card. A typical modprobe line would look like this: <code>

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* Pre-defined at boot time\\ If UDEV does not detect your card, or if you do not use UDEV, or if you just want to make sure that your card's driver is loaded always, you can create a file by the name of **''/etc/rc.d/rc.netdevice''** and add modprobe command(s) there that load the driver for your card. A typical modprobe line would look like this: <code>

/sbin/modprobe 3c59x

/sbin/modprobe 3c59x

</code> Do not forget to make that file executable! <code>

</code> Do not forget to make that file executable! <code>

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/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 INTERFACE_restart

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 INTERFACE_restart

</code> That last command will mostly be used after changing one or more of the interface's configuration parameters like for instance the IP address, or the wireless encryption key.

</code> That last command will mostly be used after changing one or more of the interface's configuration parameters like for instance the IP address, or the wireless encryption key.

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=== Network configuration file rc.inet1.conf ===

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* The file ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' consists basically of a series of variable array definitions. Array elements with the same index number will all belong to the same network interface. By default, index number **0** is used for the configuration of interface **eth0**, index number **1** is used for **eth1** and so forth. The default interface name can be overruled by the use of the variable **IFNAME**.\\ This is what a typical section of the file looks like - I have selected every array variable with the index number [**0**]: <code>

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# Config information for eth0:

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IPADDR[0]=""

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NETMASK[0]=""

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USE_DHCP[0]=""

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DHCP_HOSTNAME[0]=""

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DHCP_TIMEOUT[0]=""

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</code> This is information which is easily editable using something like //vi// or //nano//. And indeed, this is how Slackware's network configuration is updated.

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* But the initial configuration (usually during the installation of Slackware, but the command is available on the running system as well) is done by running the script <code>

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netconfig

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</code> Unfortunately, the netconfig program only cares about the interface **''eth0''**, and the questions it asks about your interface lack the one that goes "//what is the name of the interface you use?//" In most cases, //''eth0''// is indeed the network interface you are going to use. But especially where wireless cards are involved, interfaces are called anything //but// ''ethN''. There is an updated version of //netconfig// in the making which supports arbitrary interfaces and wireless parameters as well, but at the time I can give no estimate when this will go into the distribution.

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<note tip>__Rule of thumb:__ use ''netconfig'' script only for your primary wired interface configuration. For any other (including wireless) card's configuration, use ''vi /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' instead</note>

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* The boot-time network configuration script ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1'' will look for up to 6 interface definitions in ''rc.inet1.conf''. This is usually enough, but in case you need to expand this value, look for the line in ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1'' that says <code>

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MAXNICS=6

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</code> and change the number to a higher value.

=== Network configuration parameters ===

=== Network configuration parameters ===

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Here follows a list of network parameters you can set for any card. As an example I've taken the section that is usually taken for **''eth0''** i.e. the array variables with index [**0**]:

<note important>If you want your Slackware system to configure a network interface at boot time, you will have to supply a value for **exactly one** of the following two variables: <code>

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IPADDR[0]="" # Needs an IP address like "192.168.0.12"

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USE_DHCP[0]="" # Needs the value of "yes" - anything else will be ignored

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</code> If both variables are empty, the interface will not be configured and activated. If both variables have values, then the interface will be configured for DHCP </note>

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If you need to configure specific parameters to make the wireless card talk to your Access Point - for instance, the ''ESSID'' (in case the Access Point is hiding its station ID), or the channel, or a ''WEP'' key, etc) then you will need to edit either the file <code>/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf</code> or the file <code>/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf</code> (one of the two will do) and add a specific configuration that matches your wireless card and Access Point.

If you need to configure specific parameters to make the wireless card talk to your Access Point - for instance, the ''ESSID'' (in case the Access Point is hiding its station ID), or the channel, or a ''WEP'' key, etc) then you will need to edit either the file <code>/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf</code> or the file <code>/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf</code> (one of the two will do) and add a specific configuration that matches your wireless card and Access Point.

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=== History ===

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Historically, the pcmcia subsystem already supported (wired as well as) wireless cards for some time, but these cards were typically configured using the ''/etc/pcmcia/network.opts'' and ''/etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts'' files. The introduction of wireless //PCCard// (which is essentially 32-bit PCI with a PCMCIA interface) and //PCI// devices demanded a new approach. Support for these cards would have to he added to the ''rc.inet1'' script.

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The first release of Slackware to have support for PCI and PCCard wireless network cards was **10.0**. The script ''/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless'' takes care of configuring the wireless parameters for a network interface. This script is being called by the generic network configuration script ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1'' for every network interface which is being initialized. The ''rc.wireless'' script will return control to ''rc.inet1'' immediately if it determines that the interface has no wireless capabilities. If a wireless interface is detected, ''rc.wireless'' will use ''iwconfig'', ''iwpriv'' and possibly ''wpa_supplicant'' to associate the card with an access point (im //managed// mode) or peer it with another computer (in //ad-hoc// mode). When the script completes it's work, it hands back control to the ''rc.inet1'' script which continues with the (DHCP or static) IP address assignment.\\ If you remove the executable bit from this script, it will never be run.

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<note warning>The ''rc.wireless'' script is not meant to be run on it's own by the user.</note>

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Before Slackware **10.2**, whenever a wireless network card would acquire a name differnt from **''ethN''** it could not be configured with an IP address using the standard network configuration files. Support for arbitrary interface names was added in that release. We are going to assume here that you are running Slackware 10.2 or newer. Most people with wireless cards will be better off with a recent release like Slackware 12.1 anyway. For older releases, there are instructions in an other Wiki article about [[:slackware:madwifi#network_configuration_the_manual_way_slackware_10.1_and_older|updating the network scripts]].

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The first versions of the ''rc.wireless'' script relied on the ''/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf'' file to hold all of your wireless card's configuration. Starting with Slackware **10.2**, it was also possible to use ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' to store wireless parameters. Support for WPA encryption (using wpa_supplicant) was also added, although it would take until Slackware **11.0** before a //wpa_supplicant// package was actually added to the ///testing// directory. In Slackware **12.0**, wpa_supplicant finally became part of the 'N' package series.

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* NOTE\\ In the above example, where I used the index 1, like in: VARIABLENAME[**1**], you may use whatever index is not used for any other card that you may have installed. If you do not have an eth**0** interface for instance, you might as well want to use the unused **0** array index. The last configuration example would then look like this: <code>

* NOTE\\ In the above example, where I used the index 1, like in: VARIABLENAME[**1**], you may use whatever index is not used for any other card that you may have installed. If you do not have an eth**0** interface for instance, you might as well want to use the unused **0** array index. The last configuration example would then look like this: <code>

# Config information for ath0 (using static IP address):

# Config information for ath0 (using static IP address):

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IFNAME[0]="ath0"

IFNAME[0]="ath0"

IPADDR[0]="192.168.3.11"

IPADDR[0]="192.168.3.11"

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* Note that I deliberately used an ESSID (the access point's Station Set Identifier) which has spaces in it. This requires that you use quotes around the name: //"my access point"//. When your access point has a name without spaces, you do not need these quotes - in fact it is better to leave those out: //WLAN_ESSID[1]=Darkstar//.

* Note that I deliberately used an ESSID (the access point's Station Set Identifier) which has spaces in it. This requires that you use quotes around the name: //"my access point"//. When your access point has a name without spaces, you do not need these quotes - in fact it is better to leave those out: //WLAN_ESSID[1]=Darkstar//.

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* You may have defined your WEP key as a string of ascii characters (i.e. a readable passphrase like "Hogwarts") instead of a string of hexadecimal characters (like "6CC07C36169B8E7524886F9A19"). If you want to use this readable string instead of typing a series of HEX characters, you can use the following key format in ''rc.inet1.conf'' <code>

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* ** NOTE about WEP encryption:**\\ You may have defined your WEP key as a string of ascii characters (i.e. a readable passphrase like "Hogwarts") instead of a string of hexadecimal characters (like "6CC07C36169B8E7524886F9A19"). If you want to use this readable string instead of typing a series of HEX characters, you can use the following key format in ''rc.inet1.conf'' <code>

WLAN_KEY[1]="s:Hogwarts"

WLAN_KEY[1]="s:Hogwarts"

</code> This is for a 128-bit (aka 104-bit) WEP key. The even weaker 64-bit (aka 40-bit) WEP keys are still being used - in this case you would need to provide one of 4 keys (or all four with one of them defined as active), this key would have to be the one that the access point considers active as well. Suppose we want to set key [2] to the ascii value "Hogwarts" and then make this the active key, this will take two ''iwconfig'' commands: "''iwconfig key [2] s:Hogwarts''" and "''iwconfig key [2]''". These commands can be combined into one: "''iwconfig key [2] s:Hogwarts key [2]''" and the corresponding entry in ''rc.inet1.conf'' would become (the first "key" word removed): <code>

</code> This is for a 128-bit (aka 104-bit) WEP key. The even weaker 64-bit (aka 40-bit) WEP keys are still being used - in this case you would need to provide one of 4 keys (or all four with one of them defined as active), this key would have to be the one that the access point considers active as well. Suppose we want to set key [2] to the ascii value "Hogwarts" and then make this the active key, this will take two ''iwconfig'' commands: "''iwconfig key [2] s:Hogwarts''" and "''iwconfig key [2]''". These commands can be combined into one: "''iwconfig key [2] s:Hogwarts key [2]''" and the corresponding entry in ''rc.inet1.conf'' would become (the first "key" word removed): <code>

WLAN_KEY[1]="[2] s:Hogwarts key [2]"

WLAN_KEY[1]="[2] s:Hogwarts key [2]"

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</code>

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</code> WEP key generators can be found all over the internet. A nice one is [[http://www.powerdog.com/wepkey.cgi|PowerDog's cgi script]]. Using WPA encryption is recommended, see the section that comes next if you need to know how to configure WPA encryption.

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WEP key generators can be found all over the internet. A nice one is [[http://www.powerdog.com/wepkey.cgi|PowerDog's cgi script]]. Using WPA encryption is recommended, see the section that comes next if you need to know how to configure WPA encryption.\\ \\ It depends on your access point and the quality of the signal (think of interference because of nearby Access Points when you live in a densely populated area) whether you have to explicitly configure parameters as the channel and the rate. Leaving these undefined will cause the driver to scan for the appropriate channel and settle for a dynamic transmission rate.

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It depends on your access point and the quality of the signal (think of interference because of nearby Access Points when you live in a densely populated area) whether you have to explicitly configure parameters as the channel and the rate. Leaving these undefined will cause the driver to scan for the appropriate channel and settle for a dynamic transmission rate.

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# IWPRIV parameter (separated with the pipe (|)

# IWPRIV parameter (separated with the pipe (|)

# character, see the example).

# character, see the example).

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WLAN_WPA[4]="wpa_supplicant" # Run wpa_supplicant for WPA support

WLAN_WPA[4]="wpa_supplicant" # Run wpa_supplicant for WPA support

WLAN_WPADRIVER[4]="ndiswrapper"# Tell wpa_supplicant to specifically use the

WLAN_WPADRIVER[4]="ndiswrapper"# Tell wpa_supplicant to specifically use the

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ssid="your_essid"

ssid="your_essid"

proto=WPA RSN

proto=WPA RSN

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key_mgmt=WPA-PSK

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key_mgmt=WPA-PSK WPA-EAP

pairwise=CCMP TKIP

pairwise=CCMP TKIP

group=CCMP TKIP

group=CCMP TKIP

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* There is a way to generate the hexadecimal value for the PSK if you have an access point which uses a passphrase. As root, run: <code>

* There is a way to generate the hexadecimal value for the PSK if you have an access point which uses a passphrase. As root, run: <code>

wpa_passphrase YOURSSID passphrase

wpa_passphrase YOURSSID passphrase

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</code> with the //YOURSSID// being the ESSID of your Access Point and //passphrase// is the ascii string you entered in the ccess Point's //WPA-PSK// configuration section. You'll receive an output, which looks like this: <code>

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</code> with the //YOURSSID// being the ESSID of your Access Point and //passphrase// is the ascii string you entered in the Access Point's //WPA-PSK// configuration section. You'll receive an output, which looks like this: <code>

network={

network={

ssid="YOURSSID"

ssid="YOURSSID"

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WLAN_WPA[1]="wpa_supplicant"

WLAN_WPA[1]="wpa_supplicant"

WLAN_WPADRIVER[1]="wext"

WLAN_WPADRIVER[1]="wext"

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</code> The value "//wext//" for the variable //WLAN_WPADRIVER// stands for "//Wireless Extensions//". It is the protocol with which wpa_supplicant and the wireless driver communicate. //Wireless Extensions// allow for a simple framework that connects arbitrary (and well-written) wireless kernel drivers and the userland program wpa_supplicant together. Not too long ago, neither wpa_supplicant nor wireless drivers used //Wireless Extensions// by definition, so it is likely that for older releases of these sotwares, wpa_supplicant needs to talk to the driver using it's own protocol. You can easily find out what "drivers" are supported by wpa_supplicant by just running it and inspecting the output: <code bash>

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</code> The value "//''wext''//" for the variable //WLAN_WPADRIVER// stands for "//Wireless Extensions//". It is the protocol with which wpa_supplicant and the wireless driver communicate. //Wireless Extensions// allow for a simple framework that connects arbitrary (and well-written) wireless kernel drivers and the userland program wpa_supplicant together. Not too long ago, neither wpa_supplicant nor wireless drivers used //Wireless Extensions// by definition, so it is likely that for older releases of these sotwares, wpa_supplicant needs to talk to the driver using it's own protocol. You can easily find out what "drivers" (cards) are supported by wpa_supplicant by just running it and inspecting the output: <code bash>

wpa_supplicant

wpa_supplicant

wpa_supplicant v0.5.10

wpa_supplicant v0.5.10

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...

...

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</code> If you use an older version of ndiswrapper you may have to use "ndiswrapper" instead of "wext" as the driver (note that current releases of ndiswrapper require "wext") <code>

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</code> //For instance:// If you use an older version of ndiswrapper you may have to use "ndiswrapper" instead of "''wext''" as the driver (note that current releases of ndiswrapper require "''wext''") <code>

-

WLAN_WPADRIVER[1]="ndiswrapper"

+

WLAN_WPADRIVER[1]="ndiswrapper"

</code>

</code>

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</code>

</code>

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<note tip>Slackware will tell //wpa_supplicant// to use the "''wext''" protocol if you do not specify a driver yourself. So, basically the line <code>

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WLAN_WPADRIVER[1]="wext"

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</code> can safely be omitted.</note>

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=== WPA2 ===

+

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WPA2 is considered a safer encryption protocol than WPA. However, not all (older) wireless access points support it because of the greater processing power the WPA2 protocol demands for the packet encryption/decryption.

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* The wpa_supplicant.conf example in [[#wpa_encryption|the previous section]] will support WPA as well as **WPA2** encrypted networks. In the following line taken from ''wpa_supplicant.conf'' <code>

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proto=WPA RSN

+

</code> the string //WPA2// is an alias for //RSN//, so that that line can be written like this as well: <code>

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proto=WPA WPA2

+

</code>

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* WPA2 support for the legacy RaLink drivers by serialmonkey is configured with an "''iwpriv''" command like this (check the [[#wireless_configuration_in_rc.inet1.conf|earlier section about rc.inet1.conf]] to see the difference with the WPA1 example given there): <code>

If your WPA connection does not activate, there are several ways to debug the problem.

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If your WPA connection does not activate, there are several ways to debug the problem. For the sake of the examples I will assume that the name of your wireless interface is **''ath0''** - substitute your own card's name if you need to apply these commands.

* Debug the WPA authentication process.\\ Make sure the network interface is down (run <code>

* Debug the WPA authentication process.\\ Make sure the network interface is down (run <code>

</code> in the file ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' and look for //logger// messages that are being written to ''/var/log/messages'' while the interfaces are configured. Maybe those messages will help you trace your problem.\\ NOTE: with debugging enabled, Slackware will write your WEP/WPA keys to the message log as well, in clear text!

</code> in the file ''/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf'' and look for //logger// messages that are being written to ''/var/log/messages'' while the interfaces are configured. Maybe those messages will help you trace your problem.\\ NOTE: with debugging enabled, Slackware will write your WEP/WPA keys to the message log as well, in clear text!

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</code> or any other larger value that helps your particular setup.\\ __NOTE__: in the last line make sure that you replace the questionmark in **[?]** with the array value that matches your wireless card configuration In the [[#wireless_configuration_in_rc.inet1.conf|above example]] this array index would be [**1**] and the actual line in ''rc.inet1.conf'' would look like <code>

</code> or any other larger value that helps your particular setup.\\ __NOTE__: in the last line make sure that you replace the questionmark in **[?]** with the array value that matches your wireless card configuration In the [[#wireless_configuration_in_rc.inet1.conf|above example]] this array index would be [**1**] and the actual line in ''rc.inet1.conf'' would look like <code>

WLAN_WPAWAIT[1]=30

WLAN_WPAWAIT[1]=30

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</code>

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</code> If you set **DEBUG_ETH_UP="yes"** then you will notice messages in your "''/var/log/messages''" file like this: <code>

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WPA authentication did not complete, try running '/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 ath0_start' in a few seconds.</code>

* The Access Point is not broadcasting the SSID.\\ Some succeed, some fail in getting WPA to work when the Access Point has a //hidden SSID//. Check if your AP is broadcasting the SSID and if not, enable it. There is little point in hiding the SSID anyway, because even with network encryption there will always be packets that need to be transfered in the clear. One of the things that can not be encrypted is the ESSID! How else can a wireless card find out that it talks to the right Access Point if it cannot read the ESSID. Anyway, with WPA as a protection layer you should not be afraid of break-ins (as long as you do not use easy-to-guess passphrases!!!

* The Access Point is not broadcasting the SSID.\\ Some succeed, some fail in getting WPA to work when the Access Point has a //hidden SSID//. Check if your AP is broadcasting the SSID and if not, enable it. There is little point in hiding the SSID anyway, because even with network encryption there will always be packets that need to be transfered in the clear. One of the things that can not be encrypted is the ESSID! How else can a wireless card find out that it talks to the right Access Point if it cannot read the ESSID. Anyway, with WPA as a protection layer you should not be afraid of break-ins (as long as you do not use easy-to-guess passphrases!!!

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In Slackware, the way to start your network (the configuration of your //nics// and bringing the interfaces up, and creating a default route if required) is by running the command <code>

In Slackware, the way to start your network (the configuration of your //nics// and bringing the interfaces up, and creating a default route if required) is by running the command <code>

-

/etc/rc.d.rc.inet1

+

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1

</code> Restarting the whole network is done in a similar fashion: <code>

</code> Restarting the whole network is done in a similar fashion: <code>

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/etc/rc.d.rc.inet1 restart

+

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 restart

</code> This is quite crude, and not adequate for the dynamic detection and configuration of network devices. Therefore, when your computer boots, and UDEV detects your network hardware, it will run the following command after loading the kernel driver and determining the name of the interface (let's assume that it is //wlan0//): <code>

</code> This is quite crude, and not adequate for the dynamic detection and configuration of network devices. Therefore, when your computer boots, and UDEV detects your network hardware, it will run the following command after loading the kernel driver and determining the name of the interface (let's assume that it is //wlan0//): <code>

-

/etc/rc.d.rc.inet1 wlan0_start

+

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0_start

</code> More generically speaking, you can start/stop/restart any network interface yourself by running one of the commands <code>

</code> More generically speaking, you can start/stop/restart any network interface yourself by running one of the commands <code>

-

/etc/rc.d.rc.inet1 INTERFACE_start

+

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 INTERFACE_start

-

/etc/rc.d.rc.inet1 INTERFACE_stop

+

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 INTERFACE_stop

-

/etc/rc.d.rc.inet1 INTERFACE_restart

+

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 INTERFACE_restart

</code>

</code>

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=== wicd ===

=== wicd ===

-

FIXME provide some information - this one is worthwhile FIXME

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Wicd (pronouced as //wicked//) aims to provide a simple interface to connect to networks with a wide variety of settings. Some of Wicd's features include:

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* Ability to connect to wired and wireless networks

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* Profiles for each wireless network and wired network

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* Many encryption schemes, some of which include WEP/WPA/WPA2

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* Remains compatible with wireless-tools

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* Tray icon showing network activity and signal strength

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Read more about it here: [[http://wicd.net/|http://wicd.net/]]

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Wicd installs a daemon which talks to your computer's //dbus// messagebus to detect network connects/disconnects. Configuration of your wireless as well as wired interfaces is done via a //wicd client//. You can either run the graphical //wicd-client// in your X Window session (KDE, XFCE, blackbox, ...), or use the console program //wicd-curses// if you are not using X.

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<note warn>If you want to use wicd, you will have to remove any network interface configuration information from ''/etc/rc.drc.inet1.conf'' in order to prevent a struggle for power between wicd and Slackware's ''rc.inet1'' script.</note>